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SBIR/STTR

Self-Powered Magnetothermal Fluid Pump, Phase I

Project Introduction

The ability to successfully manage thermal loads is increasingly a primary design constraint for many emerging engineered systems. Systems ranging from military aircraft to computational platforms to photovoltaic (PV) power generation all generate unwanted heat and traditional methods for transporting and removing this heat are often heavy, cumbersome, power hungry, or lack adequate heat removal capacity. Excess heat can result in reduced efficiency in PV systems, limit duty cycles for pulsed power applications, and ultimately cause failure of critical components if not managed properly. Similar problematic scenarios exist for many power generation systems, high power radio frequency (RF) devices, portable electronics, and lasers, to name a few. A host of thermal management techniques are currently available including heat pipes, liquid immersion, jet impingement and sprays, thermoelectric coolers, and refrigeration. While these techniques are adequate in some cases, none of these methods alone can meet the needs of future high power thermal management without incurring large penalties of weight, power, or volume. The technology proposed here overcomes these limitations through autonomic, self-powered, and self-cooling functionality by directly converting the unwanted thermal energy into useable mechanical energy for use in coolant pumps or refrigeration compressors.
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Anticipated Benefits

Many of the advanced technologies employed by NASA feature high power densities and significant, transient thermal loads. An autonomic, self-powered thermal management system could be used to improve the performance of many of these systems without significantly increasing system cost, complexity, or power requirements. � Thermal management systems: thermal management of power electronics and data processing systems � Thermal Switches: The device proposed here could serve as a viable alternative to problematic thermal switches, with only slight modification. Tuning of ferromagnetic material Curie temperature and spring dynamics allows for operation at any temperature set point, from well below ambient to elevated temperatures in the several hundred degrees Celsius. � Solar-powered aircraft: enhancement of solar aircraft harvesting efficiency through cooler PV junction temperatures � Fluidic Microsystems: development of self-powered, autonomous microfluidic pumps and microvascular systems to be used in fluid delivery (lubricants, nutritives, etc.) � Energy Storage: Isothermal enthalpic energy storage systems that convert waste heat into pressure or in phase change materials
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